Home > A Community of Faith > Archives > 2009 > September > 23 > Entry
Hands on
You know what really irks me when I’m shopping??? Those crazy people who stalk you while you’re walking down the mall, minding your own business. You know the ones…They are constantly trying to spray something on you or tell you about their product that will miraculously transform your gnawed-to-the-knuckle fingernails into beautifully manicured appendages. I don’t think so. Trust me, there’s nothing that’s going to help my nail stubs. The mall-stalkers drive me nuts. I feel like I’m under attack. You can’t escape them. You can sense their presence. They encircle you like vultures. You quickly look away so as not to make even the slightest eye contact. Oh, but they persist. They are no stranger to rejection. They continue with their assault. They are a bold lot. They approach you, begging, pleading, please let me squirt you with my magic spray. But you promptly flee the area to a nearby store and hide behind a rack of clothes. They move on to prey upon the next unsuspecting passerby.
Sharing the gospel can feel like that sometime. During a recent mission trip to Costa Rica we did a tract ministry where we went to a big city and stood on a street corner and handed out tracts to passersby. The tracts outlined the gospel and provided information about a local church they were invited to attend. Then again, it was in Spanish and I don’t speak, much less read Spanish, so who knows what it really said. It could have been a coupon for a free chimichanga for all I knew. (:
For many reasons the tract-type of ministry was not my favorite way to share the gospel. It was somewhat impersonal. Basically, we would randomly hand someone a tract. Most of the time the person never broke stride. There was little opportunity for conversation, not that it would have mattered because, like I said, “no habla espanol.” The language barrier didn’t allow for much more than a smile between us. They would usually accept the tract and go on their way.
I think about Jesus’ ministry…He was very hands on. Literally, “hands on.” He often “laid hands on.” The gospel of Luke details several times that Jesus did just this. A paralytic’s friends lowered him down through the roof and placed him right in front of Jesus for him to be healed. (Wow, we should all pray for friends with that kind of persistence and faith!) In Luke 5:13, Jesus “reached out and touched the leper” and he was immediately healed. In Luke 4, Jesus went to Simon’s house and “bent over” and healed his mother-in-law who was suffering from a high fever. In Luke 8, Jesus took the little girl’s hand and raised her from the dead.” In Mark He made “mud pies” and touched the eyes of the blind man twice and restored his sight.
Jesus certainly could have healed from a distance. He didn’t need to be present. He proved that in John 4:50 when he healed the nobleman’s son without ever seeing him. Jesus replied, “You may go. Your son will live.” The bible says that he was twenty miles from the boy. So, it is not of question of whether or not he could have healed from afar. He can and He did. But more times than not, He was there in person. I have to believe that he stooped down and looked them in the eye. The bible says that He literally touched them…physically and spiritually and He healed them. He was and is a “hands-on” Savior.
I’m with Jesus…I much prefer a more “relational” method to sharing the gospel. I had such a desire to say more than what they could read on the tract. I wanted to sit down with them and look them in the eye. I so wanted to tell them what God has done in my life…to personalize it…to make it real to them. I wanted to say to them that this is not just words on a page. This is real. I can prove that to you. I am living proof!
Later that night I was reflecting on the day’s events. I thought about the tract ministry. I realized that sometimes we’re not called to harvest. Sometimes our job is simply to plant seeds. Hopefully others will come behind us and water those seeds…and ultimately, our prayer is that still others are there for the harvest.
I heard someone say that the key to bringing others to Christ is relationships. I tend to agree. Someone described it something like this…When we build relationships or friendships with others they begin to see Jesus living in us. That friendship is sort of like a bridge that connects our life to theirs. Our friends eventually want what they see shining through us, hopefully very brightly! Sorta like that “city on a hill” that Jesus talks about in the Sermon on the Mount. Anyway, at that point, they walk across that bridge of friendship and on the other side of the bridge they find Jesus. That’s the kind of ministry I want.
Comments
By Celia
September 24, 2009 9:25 AM | Link to this
You are such a great writer. I want to be YOU when I grow up!